Vegan Chicken Nuggets
These Vegan Chicken Nuggets are juicy in the middle and crispy on the outside. Coated in a flavorful breading and fried until golden-brown, these plant-based nuggets are sure to be a hit.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 374kcal
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk of choice I used unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup pickle juice
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce omit if you don’t like spice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 1 (1 pound) block firm tofu pressed, drained, and cut into 24 (1 inch) chunks
Batter
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup organic powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper omit if you don’t like spice
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- Marinade from above
Other
- Canola Oil for pan frying*
- BBQ Sauce for serving
- Ketchup for serving
- Vegan Ranch Dressing for serving
Instructions
Marinade
- In a large bowl, whisk together milk, pickle juice, hot sauce, salt, and 1 tablespoon taco seasoning.
- Stir in cubed tofu and set aside for 15 minutes, then drain, but reserve marinade.
Batter
- Combine flour, cornstarch, sugar, salt, pepper, cayenne, and 1 tablespoon taco seasoning in a bowl.
- Remove 1 1/2 cups of this flour mixture and place onto a large plate (this is our dry mixture).
- Add reserved marinade to the remaining flour mixture and whisk until smooth (this is our batter).
- Take one piece of tofu and fully coat it with dry mixture. Shake off any excess.
- Place it into the wet batter and fully coat, allowing excess to drip off.
- Coat the tofu in the dry mixture one more time, shaking off any excess, then place onto a clean work surface.
- Repeat with remaining cubed tofu.
Frying
- Heat oil to somewhere between 350 and 375 degrees F in a large straight edged sauté pan**.
- Working with half the batch, fry tofu in the hot oil until golden and crispy, about 2-3 minutes per side, flipping once.
- Use a slotted metal spoon to remove the tofu and place on paper towels to drain.
- Repeat with remaining tofu and serve with bbq sauce, ketchup, vegan ranch, or your favorite dipping sauce.
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Notes
*I used 2 cups canola oil, which covered the tofu halfway up, allowing me to only flip once to fry.
**Feel free to use a deep fryer instead.
**Feel free to use a deep fryer instead.
Nutrition
Serving: 6vegan nuggets | Calories: 374kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1782mg | Potassium: 69mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 330IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 190mg | Iron: 4mg